Stolen concept

The fallacy of stolen concept is an argument in which the arguer accepts the truth of a concept in order to disprove that very same concept. It is essentially a self-refuting statement because the arguer is accepting the concept as both true and false in the same statement.

Examples

1. Physics has shown that science can't tell us anything.

Physics is a science, so the arguer is accepting the truth of a science in order to disprove science.

2. The truth is there is no truth.

Saying "there is no truth" is still making a truth claim, so the arguer is accepting the validity of the concept of truth to disprove the concept of truth.

3. I do not exist.

In order for the arguer to make this statement they need to be alive, so they are implicitly accepting the truth of their existence while trying to deny their existence.

4. Reality is an illusion.

The concept of illusion is meaningless without the concept of reality. The concept of illusion is derived from the concept of reality because we can contrast what is real and not real. If there was no possible way for us to make this contrast then the concept of illusion would not exist because all things would be considered real to us.